Career Advice for 老外

[wangshuai]

Hi yall,

I stumbled across this site about a week ago and have been addicted to it since. After reading blog posts and forum posts for over a week now, I decided I should create an account and post.

My name is Christopher Marzoq and I am an American. I am very passionate about China and business. I am convinced that China is the future for not only business, but many aspects and I seek to be a part of this “land of opportunity”.

I am aware of the problems, most importantly the debt problem that China will have to cope with in the future; however, when I say “land of opportunity”, I am referring to a long-term outlook on the future of the country. The 19th century belonged to Britain, 20th to the US, and the 21st will be/is China’s. My views in terms of economics have been formed by following mentors such as Jim Rogers, Marc Faber, Peter Schiff, Michael Pettis, and others, so one could say I am quite bullish on China.

On that note, the purpose of my post is in regard to seeking employment in Chengdu, or the nearby city of Chongqing. I am well aware of the numerous posts involved with employment and finding jobs in China, and I apologize for the repetition.

Before I post the questions I have, here is a little information about myself so that others may be able to get a better idea of my situation and provide me some type of guidance.

I graduated in May 2013 from Arizona State University with bachelors in Marketing and minor in Chinese. I have studied for a semester in Hong Kong and have worked in Shaoxing, China for 3 months in 2012 with my current company’s supplier (very small business, but still learned a lot). My current level of Chinese is intermediate, but I have started private lessons to continue my pursuit of the language. Although I have no corporate experience, I have been working full time for 6 years, including while I was enrolled in school, and am currently employed right now with a small business.

I am interested in working in the following sectors, however, I am open to others and understand that I most importantly, need to get my foot in the door; therefore, I am not too picky: oil/gas, natural resources, FMCG, and luxury goods.

I do not expect an expat salary and am perfectly fine with starting at the bottom and working my way up, similar to locals. This is fine with me because I intend to live my life in China, and understand that I am a foreigner seeking a position in a country which I do not even speak, read, or write their language fluently.

My questions:

– Due to my lack of corporate experience and lack of fluency of the language, what is the best option of getting to China?

– If fluency is required, I do not mind living in China for some time while I become fluent and then can apply directly to MNC’s Chinese Corporate offices (most of the sites are in Chinese). In regards to this situation, is teaching my only option?

– Does anybody have any experience with applying to Chinese companies versus MNC’s? Pros or Cons?

– To obtain a legal status of working in China, I believe I need a Z Visa, which requires 2 years post school experience. If I have been working full-time (sales and marketing related positions in small business) for 6 years while going to school, does that account for the 2 years or are they quite strict about that?

– If I do intend to teach in China as my only option to get there, will I be able to obtain a Z Visa if I network and find a job while on the ground? Or, do they require me to go back to America to get 2 “official” years of post-college experience before ANY company will hire me?

– For MNC’s in China, do most of their local offices do the hiring?

– I would rather work in a Tier 2 or Tier 3 city, rather than the more “common” cities for foreigners to work (like Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Beijing). With companies focusing on expanding to these cities in the future seeking growth, would this be more likely or more difficult to find a job in those lower Tier cities?

– If for my last resort I must teach English, are there any experiences of people finding a business related position while teaching? Again, will I be legally working in China if offered a position while teaching?

As I said, I am determined to live my life in china and become a successful businessman. Anybody who took the time to read my post and comment will be highly appreciated. If you need more information or have more questions feel free to ask for more information.

If some people prefer a private message, please email me at [email protected] or you can go to http://www.chrismarzoq.com for more information about me or to view my resume. Once again, thank you.

谢谢，
王帅
Christopher Marzoq

[Author]

Posts